The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense

“…I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.… It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.” - Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

"The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it." - George Orwell

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Sunday, August 2, 2015

The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.

Here's the Nonsense: With the election in 2016, we'll finally be done with Obama's power over our nation.

Here's the Horse Sense: 2016 not only won't be the end of Obama's power over our nation, his power will continue but there will be even less ability to control him.

If
you think President Obama is done influencing, even controlling, our
government after 2016, then you've got another think coming. He may be
leaving office after 2016, but he's planning on big influence after that
date. He's not going away. The only difference will be that as a
private citizen he'll be even harder to stop than as president (not that
the Republicans tried to stop him during his presidency anyway). He's
setting himself up for huge influence and control after he leaves the
Oval Office, and few people even realize it.

The Washington Post is reporting
that out of Obama's campaigns came an organization called Organizing
for Action (OFA). While an organization of this type should wind down
as a president nears the end of his term, OFA is continuing full steam
ahead. They are still raising money and working towards furthering
Obama's agenda, which does not stop when he leaves office. His plan is
to influence, if not to control, the Democrat Party for years, maybe
even decades to come.

OFA
is set up with a huge email list of donors that it works to get support
for Obama's progressive agenda. By doing this he is able to control
the party and push things to go his way. OFA has been involved with
enrolling people in Obamacare, setting and running political rallies,
promoting LGBT issues, immigration issues, and climate change policies.
And they've done this through use of Obama's email list that was
essential for his campaign victories.

The
WAPO article tells us that while these were usually the tasks of the
national political committees, "in 2002, the emergence of national
committees as national political machines was short-circuited." It goes
on to say:

"Although Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is
best remembered for striking down some campaign finance restrictions,
perhaps as important are the portions of 2002’s Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act (BCRA) that the Supreme Court let stand. While fundraising
restrictions on Political Action Committees and other forms of
“independent” groups were eliminated, the BCRA’s new regulations on
contributions to party committees were upheld. The most significant
remaining regulation was the so-called soft money ban, which proscribed
the national party organizations from raising unregulated funds."

It then goes on to explain what it means:

"Prior
to the BCRA’s passage, campaign finance law distinguished between money
raised for the purposes of “electioneering” on behalf of candidates for
office (what was then called “hard money”) and dollars earmarked for
all other purposes (referred to as “soft money”). Individual donors were
–as now – restricted in the amount of hard money they could donate, but
there was no cap on soft money donations before 2002. Since then,
however, no distinction has been enforced between hard money and soft;
all donations to political parties have been subject to the same
limits."

These
days the parties focus most of their funds on contributions to
candidates that are in highly competitive elections (i.e.; the GOP pours
money into elections where establishment Republican candidates are
being challenged by conservatives so that the conservatives will be defeated). And this is where Obama has been so
smart. Using OFA, they can accept unlimited contributions and then
promote policies that don't fall under the regulation of campaign
finance laws.

OFA also holds workshops to train their followers to be community organizers and workers to work for Democrat candidates. More than 10,000 were trained to work in the 2014 midterm elections and many of those are already joining 2016 presidential campaigns. OFA even recently sent out an email saying they were securing the "future of the Progressive movement." And if you've done even the smallest amount of homework you understand that the Progressive movement is based on Marxist ideology that is pushing America towards communism.

While
the article says that "former President Obama may well keep OFA intact
after he leaves office. With its state of the art digital platform, 30
million e-mail addresses, 3 million donors and 2 million active
participants, OFA 4.0 could continue to be a useful ally to progressive
politicians and causes."

I think it's foolish to think he will do
anything less than keep OFA going. Why else would he still be raising
money and training people through OFA? It would make no sense to
continue building an organization if he plans to shut it down.

This
is the danger of the Progressive movement, not just President Obama.
Yes, he's their figurehead leader, but only a figurehead (although he's
an expert at progressive tactics and is most likely a key architect in
this process). However, he clearly does not make the final decisions.
Someone or some group behind the scenes undoubtedly gives him his
directions. Some even say it's Valerie Jarrett, who certainly has huge
influence over him. However, I suspect that she's a key player, but not
the total power "behind the throne" and we shouldn't think that if
Obama and/or Jarrett were gone that this wouldn't continue.

The
progressives have spent a century building to where they are at today.
Whether they use Obama or someone else, they are deeply embedded into
our system. And they include many Republicans at the top of the GOP.
After all, when was the last time people like John Boehner and Mitch
McConnell really fought for what the voters elected them to fight for?
As I've said for many years, the progressive plan has been to so
infiltrate and influence both parties that they have the same goals.
Then, when the voters get fed up with one party and throw them out, the
other party who steps in will continue on the same path to the same
goals.

And doesn't that look exactly like what's been happening?

Don't
let the label of "Republican" fool you. Obviously it means very little
anymore. While the Republican Party platform is much different than the
Democrat Party platform, most Republican politicians don't embrace it.
That's why David Bratt was able to unseat Eric Cantor in his Virginia
congressional race by simply going to voters, showing the Republican
Party platform and saying he was running on that and Cantor couldn't
counter him because he didn't stand with the platform. Just because
someone calls themselves a Republican doesn't mean they live up to the
platform of the party. And sadly, today most Republican politicians
don't.

The task at hand for American voters is simple; the
progressives in both parties and must be stopped if America is to
survive. If you don't stop them, they will not stop until you don't
exist.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

The Horse Sense blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.

Here's the Nonsense:
Trump hasn't said what he's going to do with illegals who are already
in America. He hasn't given us the details about his plans and that
probably probably means he doesn't have any details.

Here's the Horse Sense:
Trump's a big picture guy and successful people like him always deal
with the details. For those who doubt him, he's now stated exactly what
he'd do with illegals already in the U. S.

Trump's
detractors have looked for any way they can to attack him. One of
those ways has been to ignore the obvious, not do enough research, and
then make unfounded statements. One of the things they're tried to
claim is that Trump has no details in his plans for America and lately
have tried to go after him about where he stands on amnesty for illegal
immigrants. For those who cannot understand, last night he stated his
position as clearly as a person could.

Clearly they don't
understand how a successful businessman thinks. People like Trump are
big picture people. Yes, they deal with the details. If they didn't,
they'd never be so successful. But their overall thought patterns look
at the big picture and it allows them to see what most people miss. A
good example is a story I wrote about Trump in this post,
where I talked about a property he purchased in California and the
management felt they didn't have enough room for banquets and other
events. They wanted to do a major construction project that would cost
millions and take years to solve their problem. Trump walked into the
room and realized immediately the problem was not the size of the room,
but that their chairs were so big they couldn't get as many people in
the room as needed. He replaced the chairs with smaller ones and increased
seating capacity by over 50%. Then he sold the old chairs and that paid
for the news ones. He avoided shutting down the property for
reconstruction, the added costs, and the pain of all the bureaucracy
they'd have had to deal with in a remodel. No one else saw it, he saw
it as soon as he walked in. That's big picture thinking.

Last
night on Hannity, Trump was asked about what he'd do about the illegal
immigrants already in the U. S. After all, we know he wants to seal the
border and control who gets into the country to make our nation more
secure. Gateway Pundit reports that Trump answered the question quite clearly. He said:

"I would get rid of the bad ones, the criminals, we have a lot of people
who are here who shouldn’t be here. And, I don’t want to house them in
our jails because it’s costing a fortune. I want them to go back to the
country where they came from. Not only Mexico, plenty of other
countries. They are pouring across the border. So that’s number one.
Then there’s number two. There’s some great people. But, you
either have laws or you don’t have laws. I would get them back to where
they are and I would try to work out a process to where they could come
in legally. But, they have to come in legally, Sean. It’s about laws."

That's
about as clear as it gets. He'll deport the bad ones, those who have
committed crimes since they arrived here. Then he'd also send the
others back but if they've been good people and not committed crimes,
he'd give them a process to come back legally. That's about as clear as
it gets. And why would he do it that way? As Trump stated, "It's about
laws."

Trump
understands that our laws are important. So, unlike the vast majority
of Republican candidates, he doesn't see amnesty as the answer. Rather,
he sees a requirement that people abide by our laws. That's just what
is needed.

Very
few GOP candidates will take a stand like that. But once again, Trump
is taking a stand and not worried about people's reactions. He's more
worried about doing what's right than about political correctness. And
that's something the other candidates better learn if they want to
compete with him.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.

Here's
the Nonsense: The GOP can stop Trump if they just continue to point
out that his followers are foolish clowns and he's a sideshow, not a
serious Republican candidate.

Here's
the Horse Sense: The only way to keep Trump from both the nomination
and a third party run is to accept him as a candidate and beat him on
the field of ideas.

First
they didn't think he'd run. Then he announced he was running. Then
they said he'd never file the required financial information. Then he filed the
financial information that confirmed his run. At every turn not only the
pundits and media doubted Trump, but the Republican Party doubted him.
And at every turn he's proved them wrong. Then they attacked him
(actually, they continue to do so) and his poll numbers continue to
rise. Even the other Republican candidates, with the exception of only a
few, have attacked him. And there's a good chance that those childish attacks will do them
serious damage with the voters. Breitbart even reported
that one of the GOP's top strategists ran to Politico to bash Trump's
followers as "clowns." (Hmmm...makes you wonder if he and McCain have
been talking!)

The
GOP is terrified of Trump and are hoping that attacking him will destroy his
candidacy. Their attacks do nothing but drive more people to support
Trump. And now, even though Trump has said he wants to run as a
Republican, it is being reported that the GOP have been trying to plot ways to try to keep him out of the debates.

Even
though Trump has plainly said that all he wants is for the GOP to treat him fairly. And most likely if they would do that
he
would play as part of the team and if he didn't get the nomination he
wouldn't run as a third party candidate. But, they continue to push him
away.
They use the political methods of Democrats to try to shut down the most
popular candidate in the Republican field.

The only thing they
will succeed at by doing this is that they will drive the voters away
from the party. It won't matter whether Trump runs as a third party
candidate because these voters will not support any Republican if the
GOP treats a favored candidate this way. They will stay home and not
vote, or they will find independent candidates to vote for, but either
way the GOP will lose their votes because of their treatment of Trump, which simply comes across as the disdain the GOP has for them as voters.

Many
people are afraid of a 3rd party run by Trump, but they don't realize
that the GOP is sealing their fate by their actions, not by the choices
Trump makes. Their actions tell Trump's voters that they are not
important to the party.

If
the GOP wants to eliminate Trump's chances of becoming the nominee,
then their other candidates need to start talking like Trump with
straightforward truths that speak to the hearts of Americans. And they
have to present solutions that are better than Trump's solutions.

The
only way to stop Trump is to beat him with better ideas and solutions.
Trump has said he wants to run as a Republican and if he's beaten with
better ideas he would most likely support that candidate with better
ideas and not run as a 3rd party candidate. But if he continues to be
treated the way he's been treated, there's a great chance he will leave
the party and run as a 3rd party candidate.

The politics of
Washington won't work this time. They must embrace Trump's candidacy as
a legitimate Republican candidacy and win the voters away from Trump
with ideas or they will lose the voters altogether. It's that simple.

And if they can't come up with better ideas and solutions, then they
should welcome Trump as the man who is articulating a message that
Americans of all kinds are embracing. Even lifelong Democrats like the schoolteacher
in Laredo that said this week he'll vote for Trump because Trump offers
solutions. Trump is appealing to voters across party lines and even
people who normally don't vote. There's no other Republican candidate getting that kind of response from the public.

If
Republicans want to win elections, they have to have better ideas, not
play the personal attack game. Americans are tired of Washington
politics and they're not going to put up with it​. If Republicans insist on Washington politics as usual, they'll lose the voters regardless of whether or not Trump is in the race.​​

Sunday, July 19, 2015

The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.

Here's the Nonsense:
Donald Trump was awful for questioning John McCain's record as a
senator. McCain is a was hero and should never be questioned.

Here's the Horse Sense:
Trump may have used a poor choice of words, but he is the real hero for
standing up for Americans. The other candidates should have taken a
stand for those Americans, too.

Since
they are getting pummeled in the presidential race and cannot stand up
to straight talk, the Republican candidates have decided to be the
cowards they are and attack the person in the lead. While they could
take him on directly on the battlefield of ideas, few are willing to
try. Why? Because it's hard to stand up to truth. And like it or not,
Donald Trump is telling it like it is, giving everyone the
unvarnished truth. So they've watched for something they could attack
and now some of them think they've found it with Trump's comments on
John McCain.

But
let's take a closer look at this. Trump made a statement about McCain
that his opponents claim questioned his hero status during his military
service. What hasn't been reported clearly is that as soon as he said
it he corrected himself FOUR times saying McCain is a war hero. (Sharyl
Atkisson reports it clearly here.) While he could
have chosen words that would have communicated his point more clearly,
there shouldn't be an immediate attack because something is quoted incompletely and assumed to be politically
incorrect. Instead, his words should be examined with an effort to
understand his point. Through that process it should be determined if
he was speaking truth or not. But that's not what we hear from the
likes of Rick Perry and Jeb Bush.

Perry
used the situation to immediately call for Trump to drop out of the
race. A race which, by the way, Perry is barely even being noticed in
at this point. Add to that the fact that Trump has made it clear he
believes Perry didn't do the job as Texas governor that he should have regarding the southern
Texas border. That is nothing but cause for Perry to allow his thin
skin to show through and look for a chance to lash out at Trump to try
to get him out of the race.

But
that's not enough. Good ol' Jeb Bush jumped on the bandwagon against
Trump, too, by immediately taking a stand defending McCain. And why
wouldn't he? McCain and Bush are part of the same establishment Republican
group that control the party and are driving this country into the
slavery being promoted by the Democrats.

Even
Fox News has joined in attacking Trump for his comments. But this
should be no surprise since Fox is nothing but the mouthpiece for the
establishment GOP and pushing Karl Rove's viewpoints as often and as
hard as they can.

And now McCain is saying Trump doesn't owe him an apology, but the apology is due to the veterans. Yet Trump has done nothing but support the veterans. McCain is simply trying to deflect the attention from his own failed senatorial record that Trump has pointed out.

These
types of attacks only go to show that Trump is a threat and they want
him out of the race. They will even use mainstream media/Democrat
tactics to do it.

There is no honor in the Republican establishment.
These are the same people who vowed during the 2014 midterms to destroy the
conservative movement, even though they would not control Congress if it
wasn't for conservative voters.

But
let's get to the crux of the matter. The real issue that's being
talked about right now is the claim that Trump questioned McCain's hero status.
That, however, doesn't address the back story behind it.

Trump
was admittedly angry at John McCain. Unlike others who've been
attacked by McCain and called names, Trump decided to stand up. But he
wasn't standing up for himself. He was standing up for the American
people who care about the future of this country.

After
Trump's crowd-drawing speech in Arizona, where they originally expected
500 people but reports say they ended up with 15,000 people wanting to
attend, McCain said Trump's words brought out "the crazies," which
referred to the American citizens who support Trump. Trump didn't like
patriotic Americans who simply want America's problems fixed being
called names and was angry at McCain for what he said.

Now
everyone knows that this isn't the first time McCain has called
American citizens and even other politicians, who support something that
he doesn't like, terrible names. Remember when he called Senators Rand Paul, Ted
Cruz, and Justin Amash wacko birds?

Yet
when McCain does such things no one stands up to him. When he
continually supports Democrat causes no one holds him accountable. I am
sure the only reason he hasn't attacked Sarah Palin is because that
would put his own decision to have her as a running mate in 2008 into
question. It's certainly not because he agrees with her.

So,
Trump hears McCain has called those who like his position on illegal
immigration and chooses to react harshly to McCain and bring
into question his record as a senator. Sounds like fair game to me. In
fact, Trump's actions were in defense of Americans for their right to
their opinion and their desire to see our country fix its border
crisis. Someone who will stand up for another and defend their right to
their opinion is nothing short of a hero.

Trump
has made it clear he believes that McCain is considered a war hero
because he was a POW and that has somehow caused him to receive less
scrutiny than others. Basically, McCain is given a pass because of his
war experience. And Trump has raised the question why McCain should
get special consideration because of his past instead of being judged based
on the job he's done while serving in the Senate. Trump's words could
have been phrased more clearly, but the point is still there for anyone
giving serious consideration to the situation.

Trump
raises an interesting point. Why should a former prisoner of war, or
anyone else be given special kid glove treatment regarding their
performance in elected office? Shouldn't McCain's service in the Senate
be judged by what he's done as a Senator, not through a filter that
avoids criticism because of a terrible experience he endured as an
American military officer?

And
the fact that McCain shouldn't get special treatment for his senatorial
performance because of his war experience doesn't even take into
account just what McCain did in Vietnam. All that's been said so far is
based on accepting at face value that McCain really was a war hero.
But there are many stories out there that seem to differ with that
assumption.

As recently as this 2010 article questions
about McCain's involvement in covering up information about POWs who
were left behind are raised. It even mentions McCain's confession to his
Vietnamese captors in which, it has been said for years, that he gave so
much confidential information that it increased losses of U. S.
aircraft in that war by as much as 60%. There has always been talk of
McCain giving up information in return for better treatment in
captivity. (Maybe that's why he and John Kerry are close friends.)

But all of that was not questioned because President Nixon
gave a blanket pardon to all POWs for anything they may have done while
in captivity. Once that was done, questions were off the table.

So,
the question of the legitimacy of McCain's heroism can certainly be
raised. But in today's America where just about anyone is considered a
hero, it is politically incorrect to even raise such a question,
especially of someone who was a prisoner of war.

Back in the days when
the label of hero was limited only to those who went above and beyond
the call of duty against all odds there may have been some questioning.
But today, we have an easy definition of hero that doesn't hold such a
high standard. And we've added to that lowered standard the politically
correct idea that anyone who falls into the current category of hero
cannot be questioned.

It's
that kind of stuff that lowers the standards upon which Americans held
for themselves in generations gone by and was a foundation stone in
making America great.

So,
Trump may have used some words that could have been chosen better, but
his intention was not selfish. Rather, it was standing up for Americans
who want a better country, who want our country fixed. And Trump
wasn't going to stand for anyone, not even someone that many think is
some kind of hero, questioning the kind of people who love America.

To
me, Trump's the hero. He stood up for Americans. Other candidates
join in the attack on him instead of joining him to stand up for
Americans.

But
the political class on both sides of the aisle are scared silly of
Donald Trump and are doing everything they can to get him out of the
race. Virtually every pundit, talk show host, and media personality say
Trump will never be the nominee. They say it because they fear it.
But they're not listening to the American people.

Radio
talk show host Mike Gallagher raised an important question this past
week. He noted how much against Trump the pundits and the Republican party
are and he asked why they insist on forcing their agenda on America
instead of listening to the American people. After all, Trump is taking
the country by storm because he's speaking plain, clear truth. He may
not be perfect, but he's a breath of fresh air to a nation choking on
all the politically correct garbage we get from both parties these days.UPDATE: This post is also published at Barbwire.com and this morning a reader wrote a very interesting comment about it. I think the comment says a lot about John McCain and deserves to be posted here, too. The reader goes by the username FlyEagleVA and part of his comment says:I served twelve years in two branches and I am NOT a hero. I respect McCain for his service, but serving and even being a POW is overshadowed by how you conduct yourself and how use the rest of your life. Based on the Code of Conduct, MacCain was a traitor, regardless of Nixon's pardon. Nobody would call John Kerry a hero and McCain and he are two sides of the same coin. McCain is a liberal masquerading as a conservative, who has failed at everything except siding with Democrats on major issues and being a talk show hound. This was the U.S. Code of Conduct at the time of McCain's capture in Vietnam (adopted 1955):

ARTICLE I:I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

ARTICLE II:I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

ARTICLE III:If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

ARTICLE IV:If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them in every way.

ARTICLE V:When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country or its allies or harmful to their cause.

ARTICLE VI:I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

Monday, July 13, 2015

The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.

Here's the Nonsense: If we can just elect a solid conservative to the presidency in 2016, America will be saved from destruction and have a great future for our children

Here's the Horse Sense: Electing a conservative president will temporarily help fix what ails America, but it will not save us from destruction. To stop America's collapse will take individual effort on the part of the American people.

If we really want to understand why America is in the shape it's in, what it will take to fix it, and whether it can be fixed, we need to understand what got us here. Most people will write off what I'm going to say, but the truth must be spoken and it's up to each person to decide if they want to face that truth and do their part to stop America's destruction. If the American people listen they will not only save the nation, they will do themselves an eternal favor in the process.

The problems we face can't be fixed by politics or any of the solutions being promoted by the candidates running for office in 2016. The problems in our nation and world are foundational matters of the heart. So, we must start by understanding that for us to succeed as individuals and as a nation we are going to have to deal with who we are and make changes inside ourselves.

I'm frequently asked how America got to the place we're in. The answer is actually quite simple. Contrary to what people want to believe, mankind is evil. Throughout history we've seen countless times where that evil has led to unspeakable things. That's because our hearts are corrupt and wicked. God tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. When left to ourselves, we will ultimately choose to do what is wrong, not what is right. Nothing but evil flows from our hearts and only God can change that.

The core reasons America is collapsing are due to the following:

1.) Narcissism. America has become a totally narcissistic society. We focus only on ourselves. It's well summed up in the song "I Wanna Talk About Me" written by Bobby Braddock and recorded and released by Toby Keith in 2001. The chorus goes like this (emphasis added):

I wanna talk about me

Wanna talk about I

Wanna talk about number one

Oh my me my

What I think

What I like

What I know

What Iwant

What I see

I like talking about you, you, you usually

But occasionally

I wanna talk about me

I wanna talk about me

People only want to focus on themselves. We are full of pride and arrogance. Proverbs 11:2 says that when pride comes, then comes disgrace. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride goes before destruction. God reminds us in Proverbs 8:13 that He hates pride, arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Americans are living lives that God hates.

Yet today we see nothing but pride and ego. People focus on themselves. Watch any sporting event and see what happens when someone scores in the game. It's all about focusing on themselves. There are few in amateur or professional sports whose successes aren't followed by a parade of antics to focus on what they did. And those who do have a humble response to their own actions are hated by many in our society. Look at the attacks Tim Tebow got for simply bowing a knee to thank God for his success. A man of character should be lauded as a role model, not attacked because of his humility and faith.

2.) Rage & Retribution. Raging with bitterness and anger has become common in our society. People think they're standing up for something, but in reality they are doing something that is considered a sin by God and was once considered a lack of decorum in society. Self control was considered appropriate, even godly behavior. But today people say they have a right to be angry. Ephesians 4:31 tells us to "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools."

From rage and anger flows desire for retribution. Everyone seems to want retribution, or vengeance, these days. Even the entertainment people submit themselves to promotes retribution as appropriate. The Golden Rule most of us in my generation were taught growing up told us to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." But today it's been replaced with "Do unto others as they have done unto you" or in some cases "Do undo others before they do unto you."

That's a long way from the Bible's command to be Christ-like and remember that when He was mistreated He did not retaliate. Yet retribution is the focus of so much of our society today. First Thessalonians 4:6 reminds us that the Lord is the one who is the avenger. It is not our place, but God's place. We are supposed to forgive as Christ offers forgiveness to us. The members of the church in South Carolina whose family and friends were slain by a deranged gunman had the perfect response, they forgave him... and they did it immediately, not after a long period of anger and resentment. That is what Jesus calls us to do.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, "When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people's hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong." In other words, the slow response of our government to punish crime drives the citizens to wrongful thoughts and deeds. But we'd be wrong to say it's the government's fault. In America our government was set up so that it was to be controlled by the people. We the people have failed miserably both in electing righteous leaders and in holding our elected officials accountable.

As a result, due to our failure to do our job as citizens, we have a government that is corrupt and failing. As a people, we Americans have gotten the government we deserve.

3.) Corrupt leaders. The leaders we have elected to office are some of the most corrupt people in our country. Proverbs 29:2 tells us, "...when the wicked rule, the people groan." And Proverbs 16:12 says, "It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, for a throne is established on righteousness."

Because Americans live immoral lives, we don't care about the corruption in our leaders. That is shown by, as mentioned before, the fact that we don't hold our leaders accountable and we elect people of bad character.

We don't elect good leaders because we do not have reverence for God or His ways. America has become a land of immoral citizens. And Romans 1:28-32 tells us what happens when people no longer honor God:

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

This also explains why there is no respect for authority anymore. We do not elect respectable people as leaders and it results in a lack of respect for authority (not just their authority, but all authority in our society). What follows that lack of respect is a rise in civil disobedience, which we are seeing today. A nation cannot find its way without righteous leadership.

When I wrote my book, No Tomorrows, in 2011 I pointed out the 3 core problems that were destroying America and then presented how we can turn that around. Those 3 problems are:

The national debt (our debt drives our entire economy and with our ever-growing debt we are rapidly spending ourselves off a cliff and will never be able to recover)

Our inability to choose good leadership

Our moral failure as a people

At the end of the book I pointed out that even if we fix all three of those problems, unless our return to morality is based on faith in God and submission to Him, America could not survive. As I pointed out then, if we fix all 3 of our core problems without fixing our relationship with God, any fix for our nation will only be temporary. We, as individuals, must place our faith in God and submit to His standards for our lives or we will only temporarily delay America's destruction.

It doesn't matter who we elect to political office, without Americans turning from their evil ways and trusting God, there will be no salvation for America as a nation.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.

Here's the Nonsense: Donald Trump is too outspoken, flamboyant, irreverent, and has hair

​that ​

I hate

​for me ​

to consider

​ him

d a serious candidate for president. We need to force him out of the race immediately.

Here's the Horse Sense: Trump may be all of those things, but speaking your mind has historically been something Americans take pride in. We need to know more about his plans for America before we make a decision about him. And as for his hair, if you judge people based on their hair, weight,

​skin

color, the way they dress, or anything else that says nothing about their character or ability, then you need to look in a mirror to see the real fool.

The media, politicians from both parties, political pundits, and

​many

​

talk show hosts are leading the charge to attack

​and/or discount

​

Donald Trump's run for the White House. Criticisms of the most superficial things control the conversation. Leftist groups have mounted campaigns to have those who do business with him quit doing so. Yet with all the criticism and threats, Trump not only doesn't back down, the stronger he stands the more his poll numbers rise.

​​

And through it all there seems to be no constructive arguments against Trump.

​We're seeing n

o attacks on his plans for America. No denial of the truths he's speaking, just attacks twisting his words through a politically correct filter. But Americans who aren't involved in the day-to-day world of politics and reporting on it

​,​

or who aren't members of the politically correct class

​,​

are hearing from Trump the words that they themselves think. He is willing to say what they think and not back down when confronted. He's rapidly becoming a modern day icon with John Wayne strength that Americans look up to.

Americans are tired of always losing.

Since World War II we've never fought a war to win. We see our soldiers come home to tell us

​about the

"rules of engagement"

​ they must follow and

that don't give them a fighting chance, let alone allow them to fight to win.

Our jobs have been lost to foreign countries.

Our economy is faltering.

Our children are getting education on a level lower than anytime in American history. Most of our college graduates today would have a hard time passing high school exams from the middle of the 20th century. Our educational institutions have become nothing more than indoctrination camps to teach our children how bad America is and how it must be changed.

All this and more cause Americans to be very

​weary of what's happened in our country

. Americans want a winner who is willing to fight for them. And when Donald Trump says, "I love America. And when you love something, you protect it passionately - fiercely, even." the American people rise up and cheer. This is a message they yearn for deep in their hearts.

The criticisms of Trump are amazingly

​ missing something. They are​

lacking in

​negative stories

from those who work for him or have had business dealings with him. After all the employees he's had and all the business deals he's made there is a void of criticism. In fact, long term employees call him a strong and merciful leader and say he is far more righteous and of high integrity

​ than people may think​

.

And while it may surprise many, he's actually humble when it comes to his generosity and kindness. A good example is a story that tells of his limo breaking down on a deserted highway outside of New York City. A middle-aged couple stopped to help him and as a thank you he paid off their mortgage, but he didn't brag about that. Generous and good people rarely talk of charity they bestow on others.

​But as much​ as all this is interesting, the real thing that people want to know is what Donald Trump's plan is for America. It's funny how so many people say they don't know what it is, or they act like Trump is hiding it. The information is readily available if people would just do a little homework. But, since most Americans won't do their own research, here, in no particular order, is an overview of many of Trumps positions and plans:

1.) Trump believes that America should not intervene militarily in other country's problems without being compensated for doing so. If America is going to risk the lives of our soldiers and incur the expense of going to war, then the nations we help must be willing to pay for our help. Using the Iraq War as an example, he cites the huge monetary expense to American taxpayers (over $1.5 trillion, and possibly much more depending on what sources are used to determine the cost) in addition to the cost in human life. He suggests that Iraq should have been required to give us enough of their oil to pay for the expenses we incurred. He includes in those expenses the medical costs for our military and $5 million for each family that lost a loved one in the war and $2 million for each family of soldiers who received severe injuries.

2.) Speaking of the military, Trump wants America to have a strong military again. He believes the single most important function of the federal government is national defense. He has said he wants to find the General Patton or General MacArthur that could lead our military buildup back to the strength it needs to be. While he hasn't said it directly that I know of, Trump's attitude about America and about winning tells me he'd most likely be quick to eliminate rules of engagement that handicap our military in battle. Clearly Trump is a "win at all costs" kind of guy, and I'm sure that would apply to our national defense and security, too.

3.) Trump wants a strong foreign policy and believes that it must include 7 core principles (which seem to support my comment in the last point):

American interests come first. Always. No apologies.

Maximum firepower and military preparedness.

Only go to war to win.

Stay loyal to your friends and suspicious of your enemies.

Keep the technological sword razor sharp.

See the unseen. Prepare for threats before they materialize.

Respect and support our present and past warriors.

4.) Trump believes that terrorists who are captured should be treated as military combatants, not as criminals like the Obama administration treats them.

5.) Trump makes the point that China's manipulation of their currency has given them unfair advantage in our trade dealings with them. He says we must tax their imports to offset their currency manipulation, which will cause American companies to be competitive again and drive manufacturing back to America and create jobs here. Although he sees China as the biggest offender, he believes that America should protect itself from all foreign efforts to take our jobs and manufacturing. For example, Ford is building a plant in Mexico and Trump suggests that every part or vehicle Ford makes in Mexico be taxed 35% if they want to bring it into the U. S., which would cause companies like Ford to no longer be competitive using their Mexican operations and move manufacturing back to the U. S., once again creating jobs here.

6.) Trump wants passage of NOPEC legislation (No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act - NOPEC - S.394), which would allow the government to sue OPEC for violating antitrust laws. According to Trump, that would break up the cartel. He also wants to unleash our energy companies to drill domestically (sound like Sarah Palin's drill baby, drill?) thereby increasing domestic production creating jobs and driving domestic costs of oil and gas down while reducing dependence on foreign oil.

7.) Trump believes a secure border is critical for both security and prosperity in America. He wants to build a wall to stop illegals from entering put controls on immigration. (And he says he'll get Mexico to pay for the wall, which many have scoffed at, but given his business successes I wouldn't put it past him.) He also wants to enforce our immigration laws and provide no path to citizenship for illegals.

8.) Trump wants a radical change to the tax system to not only make it better for average Americans, but also to encourage businesses to stay here and foreign businesses to move here. The resulting influx of money to our nation would do wonders for our economy. He wants to make America the place to do business. He also wants to lower the death tax and the taxes on capital gains and dividends. This would put more than $1.6 trillion back into the economy and help rebuild the 1.5 million jobs we've lost to the current tax system. He also wants to charge companies who outsource jobs overseas a 20% tax, but for those willing to move jobs back to America they would not be taxed. And for citizens he has a tax plan that would allow Americans to keep more of what they earn and spark economic growth. He wants to change the personal income tax to:

Up to $30,000 taxed at 1%

From $30,000 to $100,000 taxed at 5%

From $100,000 to $1,000,000 taxed at 10%

$1,000,000 and above taxed at 15%

9.) Trump wants Obamacare repealed. He says it's a "job-killing, health care-destroying monstrosity" that "can't be reformed, salvaged, or fixed." He believes in allowing real competition in the health insurance marketplace to allow competition to drive prices down. He also believes in tort reform to get rid of defensive medicine and lower costs.

10.) Trump wants spending reforms in Washington, acknowledging that America spends far more than it receives in revenue. He has said he believes that if we don't stop increasing the national debt once it hits $24 trillion it will be impossible to save this country.

11.) Even though he says we need to cut spending, he does not want to harm those on Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. He believes that the citizens have faithfully paid in to the system to have these services available and that the American government has an obligation to fulfill its end of the bargain and provide those benefits. Therefore, he wants to build the economy up so that we have the revenue to pay those costs without cutting the benefits to the recipients. He disagrees with Democrats who think raising taxes is the answer and says that when you do that you stifle the economy. On the other hand, when you lower taxes and create an environment to help businesses they will grow, hire more workers, and those new workers will be paying taxes that become more tax revenue for the government.

12.) Trump also wants reform of the welfare state saying that America needs "a safety net, not a hammock." He believes in a welfare to work program that would help reduce the welfare roles and encourage people to get back to work. And he wants a crackdown on entitlement fraud.

13.) Trump believes climate change is a hoax.

14.) Trump opposes Common Core.

15.) Trump is pro-life, although he allows for an exception due to rape, incest, or the life of the mother.

16.) Trump is pro 2nd Amendment rights.

17.) Trump's view on same-sex marriage is that marriage is between a man and a woman, but he also believes that this is a states rights issue, not a federal issue.

18.) Trump supports the death penalty.

Trump believes that there is a lack of common sense, innovative thinking in Washington (Hmmm... looks like he believes in horse sense!). He says it's about seeing the unseen and that's the kind of thinking we need to turn this country around. He tells a personal story to illustrate the point:

"When I opened Trump National Golf Club at Rancho Palos Verdes in Los Angeles, I was immediately told that I would need to build a new and costly ballroom. The current ballroom was gorgeous, but it only sat 200 people and we were losing business because people needed a larger space for their events. Building a new ballroom would take years to get approval and permits (since it's on the Pacific Ocean), and cost about $5 million. I took one look at the ballroom and saw immediately what needed to be done. The problem wasn't the size of the room, it was the size of the chairs. They were huge, heavy, and unwieldy. We didn't need a bigger ballroom, we needed smaller chairs! So I had them replaced with high-end, smaller chairs. I then had our people sell the old chairs and got more money for them than the cost of the new chairs. In the end,the ballroom went from seating 200 people to seating 320 people. Our visitors got the space they desired, and I spared everyone the hassle of years of construction and $5 million of expense. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a little common sense."

On top of his saving years of construction and $5 million in expenses, he also was able to keep the ballroom open for business during the time it would have been under remodeling, which allowed him to continue to make money on the space instead of losing that revenue during construction time.

Donald Trump's entire life has been made up of success and winning. He's been accused of bankruptcies, but that's not true. He's never filed personal bankruptcy. He's bought companies and legally used bankruptcy laws to restructure their debt, just as businesses do all the time. But he's never been bankrupt personally.

He's a fighter that clearly loves America and would fight for our nation. Earlier I quoted Trump saying, "I love America. And when you love something, you protect it passionately - fiercely, even." We never hear that from Democrats or even from most Republicans. Donald Trump is saying things that desperately need to be said but no other candidate has shown the fortitude to stand up and say them.

Looking over this list of what he wants for America I see a very necessary set of goals that are long past due. Before we criticize someone because the media does, maybe we should seriously consider what he has to offer.

(Most of the information on Trump's positions and plans for America come from his 2011 book, Time To Get Tough)

Sunday, June 28, 2015

The Horse Sense Blog compares the nonsense in today's news with good ol' fashioned horse sense.Here's the Nonsense: Last week's rulings by SCOTUS may not be what we like, but we'll do better in the future.Here's the Horse Sense: Last week's rulings by SCOTUS should be no surprise to anyone. We've been headed this way for a long time and things won't get better if we don't understand what we're up against.If last week's decisions by the Supreme Court were a surprise to you, then you are sorely out of touch with what has been happening in America since long before Barack Obama. And those things are planned to continue long after he is gone from office.For example, the SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage was, as Chief Justice John Roberts said, not about the Constitution. It was bending to political correctness and nothing else. What's more important to note is that while it should have been rejected for ruling by SCOTUS on the basis that the Constitution says nothing about marriage. It should have been a state's rights issue. But the fact is that even if they had given it back to the states, ultimately we would have ended up with each and every state embracing gay marriage. Sure, some states would have been a little slower to embrace it, but not much slower and ultimately we would have ended up with it anyway.It's no longer time to discuss whether gay marriage is right or wrong. In America that is no longer the point. Not because it is now the law of the land, but because it is a pointless discussion. The discussion to have now is how we got here and whether our society could ever change back to what it once was.Some are still under the misconception that our elected representatives will take a stand to stop some of this madness. A Virginia state lawmaker, Delegate Robert. G. Marshall is quoted in an article on WND.com saying that the House of Representatives could use the power of the purse to stop recent rulings by SCOTUS. Obamacare, gay marriage, confederate flags, accusations of racism, and everything else we see happening in our nation are not the point of any of this. Frankly, the progressive communists who are in control of our nation couldn't care less about them. What they care about is the methods they need to employ to cause the destruction of American society and the resulting collapse of our system of government. That is all they are interested in. What we are seeing are just the methods they are using to accomplish their goals.The SCOTUS decisions last week affirm that the constitutional republic of the United States of America no longer exits. Your First Amendment rights have just been thrown out and I have no doubt that very shortly we will see efforts to silence those who disagree with the government. Contrary to what some think, that religious freedom and freedom of conscience will be protected regardless of what SCOTUS did, you are about to see lawsuits and government action to punish those who dare to disagree. Many will lose financial resources, some will lose businesses, some will lose family and friends, and some will even be imprisoned if they dare stand against the decisions that were handed down.Our constitutional republic is no longer a functioning entity. There's no point in discussing how this issue or that issue is right or wrong. The only discussions should be how we got here, whether there is anything that can be done to change it, and how much time we have to do so. If the founding fathers of America spent their time only talking about how wrong King George was on issues and that it was wrong for the colonists to be treated the way they were treated, they would never have won the War of Independence. They would have been wiped out by the King's army and every one of our founders would have been tried and hung for treason.The time for action is now. And the most effective actions are taken by knowing what you are up against. You cannot effectively fight something if you don't know what it is. So let's start by understanding where all that is happening comes from.When the communists overthrew Russia in 1917 they thought that their revolution would spread throughout the world. They dreamed of Europe and America falling to communism. When it didn't happen immediately they developed other plans to infiltrate and overthrow the west. An organization in Germany was formed and planned to be called the Institute for Marxism, but it was decided they needed to be more discreet. So, they named it the Institute for Social Research, which became known as The Frankfurt School. The Frankfurt School was set up to undermine and destroy Christianity and the foundational values from Christianity that were the basis of western civilization. The school was directly aligned with Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, and George Hegel, among others. They saw workers and peasants as good and the wealthy and business owners as evil. They taught a cultural marxism which held that certain groups were victims of injustice from society. Their plan has been to slowly undermine the foundation stones of America and bring about the destruction of America through societal unrest. (Dr. William Lind shares very interesting information about The Frankfurt School here and in his book about political correctness which is a free download here. Some of my best understanding of all of this comes from Brannon Howse's excellent book, Grave Influence, which goes into depth about the underlying influences that have brought America to where we are today.When the Nazis took over Germany in 1933, many from the Frankfurt School were invited to America by John Dewey and helped by famed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Dewey was on staff at Columbia University in New York (yes, Barack Obama's alma mater) and he helped place these Marxists at leading universities and colleges across the country. In 1934 Murrow became the Assistant Secretary of the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars. Prior to that he received experience as Assistant Director of the Institute of International Education where he was hired by Stephen Duggan, who advised the Soviet government on issues related to their workers' colleges and he promoted the communist agenda.One key figure Murrow brought to America from the Frankfurt School was Herbert Marcuse. He influenced 1960s student rebels with such ideas as "One can rightfully speak of a cultural revolution, since the protest is directed toward the whole cultural establishment; including the morality of existing society….[T]here is one thing we can say with complete assurance. The traditional idea of revolution and the traditional strategy of revolution has ended. These ideas are old-fashioned….[W]hat we must undertake is a type of diffuse and dispersed disintegration of the system.” Many of those 1960s rebels went on to become today's college and university professors.

Howse says in his book:

"When you hear 'political correctness,' what comes to mind? You probably think of PC words such as tolerance, diversity, multiculturalism, and feminism. But what hides behind these terms? "Tolerance means that one person never expresses a judgment about someone else’s ideas, beliefs, and values from a worldview of absolute truth. Tolerance demands that you not only accept another worldview, but that you value it—unless, of course, the worldview is Biblical Christianity. Tolerance is very intolerant of Bible-minded Christians."Diversity or sensitivity training is about the normalization of the homosexual lifestyle."Multiculturalism is not the study of many cultures but the criticism of Western Culture and its founding worldview of Christianity. Multiculturalism also desires to destroy patriotism."Howse also shares from Alvin Schmidt's The Menace of Multiculturalism: The Trojan Horse in America another agenda behind political correctness:"The idea behind political correctness is the notion of oppression. Women, blacks, Hispanics, and homosexuals are viewed as oppressed minorities due to the influence of Christianity and capitalism, bringing about the need for a revolution to overthrow their white, male, heterosexual, Euro-centric oppressors."And from T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.'s “Political Correctness in Higher Education,” he outlines the problem as:"Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Politically Correct assault on the curriculum is that it has occurred at many of America’s elite universities. Take, for example, the case of Stanford University, an institution that has long played a leadership role in American higher education. Stanford eliminated its long-standing Western civilization requirement in 1988 and replaced it with a multicultural program known as 'Cultures, Ideas, and Values.' Under this new program, freshmen at Stanford can just as easily study Marxist revolutionaries in Central America as they can Plato, Shakespeare or Newton. Because elite institutions such as Stanford set an example for the rest of American higher education, other universities eagerly adopt these devastating assaults on the curriculum. This 'trickle-down'” effect will have a long-lasting impact on the way future generations of Americans will be educated. One distinguished scholar recently lamented that 'higher education is increasingly about acquiring attitudes and opinions that one puts on like a uniform.'"24 years ago, in 1991, U.S. News and World Report stated that there were 10,000 Marxist professors teaching at America’s colleges and universities.And Georgie Anne Geyer, writing in a 1989 Denver Post article, reported that “the percentage of Marxist faculty numbers can range from an estimated 90 percent in some Midwestern universities.”Howse wrote his book in 2009 and gave excellent information to educate Americans and help fight the battle against America's destruction. He quoted William Lind describing how we have allowed this worldview to destroy America by failing to follow and teach a Biblical worldview to the next generation:"In the United States of America our traditional Western, Judeo-Christian culture is collapsing. It is not collapsing because it failed. On the contrary, it has given us the freest and most prosperous society in human history. Rather, it is collapsing because we are abandoning it."Howse goes on to write:"By eradicating Christianity not only will the family fall and the Church become impotent, but capitalism and the free enterprise system that were birthed out of the Protestant Reformation will be destroyed."The ultimate goal of cultural Marxism is to destroy Christianity in all areas of American life: law, science, economics, history, family, social issues, and education. The elimination of the Christian worldview from the culture will create the desired chaos. Once chaos has reached a fevered pitch, the public will cry out for government to solve the problem and people will accept socialism—and the outright rejection of the U.S. Constitution and our other founding documents. Then the cultural Marxists will have accomplished the transition from cultural Marxism to traditional Marxism—socialism—the economic philosophy of Karl Marx."What's has happened in America is because of the success of the communist plans to overthrow our nation. And they have succeeded. When the Supreme Court no longer rules based on law, but based on political correctness and creating laws out of thin air, we no longer have a constitutional republic. All 3 branches of government in America are now complicit in their actions. None of them do their jobs of holding the other branches accountable.And you can top that off with the fact that we have a society that is so narcissistic that they ignore what's going on in our nation. They shirk their civic responsibility to be involved in their government.

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This work was not created to provide any legal, business,professional, or personal counsel or advice. It is an opinion and should be treated as such. This should not be considered the only source of information. Readers are encouraged to refer to other sources for additional information. TheAuthor shall have no liability or responsibility to any persons,groups, or businesses with respect to any loss or damagecaused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided; claimany responsibility in decisions made by any persons, entity, orcompany based upon the provided information; or make anyguarantees or warranties implied or otherwise to the accuracyof the included material.